"Only the pots know the boiling points of the broths," she says as Tita weeps into the wedding batter she is making to celebrate the marriage of her sister to her own true love.

The most elementary of good manners . . . at a social gathering one does not bring up the subject of personalities, sad topics or unfortunate facts, religion, or politics.

[...] each of us is born with a box of matches inside us but we can't strike them all by ourselves

Take care to chop the onion fine.

No one who loves life can ignore literature, and no one who loves literature can ignore life.

I like vibrant colors.

Keeping secrets will always lead to unhappiness and communication is the key to love.